Phonics and Reading at Our School

Every child deserves success right from the start. We know that the sooner children learn to read, the greater their success at school. This is why we put reading at the heart of what we do.

We use a Department for Education (DfE) validated systematic synthetic phonics (SSP) programme called Essential Letters and Sounds (ELS) to teach our children to read and write. Our aim is to get all children to read well, quickly. Children begin learning phonics at the very start of Reception, with explicit, daily lessons continuing through Year 1 and beyond to ensure they become confident, fluent readers.

 

How We Support Every Reader: "Keep Up, Rather Than Catch Up"

As children enter school, they are screened for their current phonic knowledge so that targeted support can be planned immediately. Reading fluency is also closely monitored for children with English as an Additional Language (EAL) to ensure they are provided with appropriate resources.

Unlike programmes that split children into different ability groups across classes, ELS relies on a whole-class teaching approach. This ensures all children maintain access to the full, rich curriculum.

• Regular Assessment: We formally assess children’s phonic knowledge in the fifth week of every half-term, allowing us to immediately pinpoint any individual learning gaps.

• Immediate Interventions: We operate on a strict "keep up, rather than catch up" basis. Pupils who need a bit of a boost are supported by the teacher during the lesson and receive short, specific, daily 1:1 Keep-Up interventions to ensure they stay on track with their peers.

Understanding the Phonics Code

Phonics knowledge is systematically split into distinct phases, following a structured progression:

1. Learning Core GPCs (Grapheme-Phoneme Correspondences): First, we teach children single letter sounds before moving onto digraphs (two letters making one sound, like 'sh'), trigraphs (three letters, like 'igh'), and quadgraphs (four letters, like 'eigh'). We use consistent visual mnemonics and a repetitive daily teaching sequence (Say, Show, Mnemonic, Word Modelling, Writing) to reduce cognitive load. Children learn to decode by identifying each pure sound (pronouncing sounds cleanly without adding an 'uh' sound at the end) and blending them together to read words.

2. Mastering Alternative Spellings: Secondly, as children progress, they learn that the same sound can be written in different ways (e.g., they learn the sound 'ay' can be represented by ay, a-e, or ai; the sound 'ee' can be written as ee, e, or ea). Alongside these alternative GPCs, we teach Harder to Read and Spell (HRS) words—words that cannot be easily decoded using their current phonic knowledge.

How do we ensure children can read every word?

We ensure that the reading books children take home are fully decodable. This means the text is carefully matched to their exact phonic level and only contains the sounds and HRS words they have already been explicitly taught. By reading and re-reading these books both at school and at home, children rapidly build reading fluency, comprehension, and absolute confidence.

 

 

How do we teach children to spell confidently?

We use the CUSP (Curriculum Unity Partnership) Spelling programme, which is a research-led, systematic approach to mastering the English language. Rather than asking children to simply memorise lists of words, CUSP teaches them how the spelling system works by exploring three core pathways: Phonology (the sounds), Orthography (the letters and spelling rules), and Morphology & Etymology (word parts and histories).

Spelling Regular Words: Orthographic Mapping and Rules

We teach children to spell regular words by breaking them down into their individual sounds and mapping them onto the correct letters (Grapheme-Phoneme Correspondences).

Instead of relying on visual memory shortcuts, we explicitly teach the rules of English orthography. Children learn structural patterns, such as suffix rules (e.g., when to double a consonant, change a 'y' to an 'i', or drop a silent 'e'). This gives them the structural tools to spell thousands of words accurately and independently.

Mastering Exception Words: Sound and History Analysis

For irregular or "tricky" words—including statutory spelling lists—we don't expect children to just guess. We explicitly analyse the word together:

• The Regular Parts: We identify which parts of the word follow standard spelling rules.

• The Exception Parts: We zoom in on the specific "tricky" part of the word, explaining why it looks unusual.

• Etymology: We often explore the history and origin of a word. Understanding where a word comes from explains its spelling and makes it far easier for children to remember.

Deliberate Practice and Long-Term Memory

Spelling is taught through daily, focused sessions rather than being treated as a one-off weekly event.

• Spelling Journals: Children use dedicated spelling journals to engage in deliberate practice, which includes handwriting alignment, proofreading, and analysing common errors.

• Spelling Pathways: Pupils work collaboratively to explore word matrices, prefixes, and suffixes, building a deep understanding of word families.

• Spaced Retrieval: We continuously review past words to move them from short-term memory into long-term recall.

Rather than relying on traditional high-stakes Friday tests, we use regular, low-stakes retrieval quizzes and proofreading challenges. This allows us to celebrate spelling success, accurately track progress, and immediately address any misconceptions.

 

How do we make writing accessible and successful for children?

We use the CUSP (Curriculum Unity Partnership) Writing framework, an evidence-informed, structured approach designed to deconstruct the complex process of writing. By reducing cognitive load, we ensure children are not overwhelmed by trying to master handwriting, spelling, grammar, and creativity all at once. Instead, we teach these component skills explicitly and combine them step-by-step to build confident, articulate writers.

1. Developing Automaticity in Transcription (Handwriting & Spelling)

To free up a child's working memory for creative thinking, the physical act of writing must become automatic.

• Posture and Grip: From the very beginning, we explicitly teach correct sitting position, paper orientation, and a comfortable, effective tripod pencil grip.

• Daily Practice: Children practise handwriting systematically to develop fluid, legible, and fast letter formation. When children don't have to struggle with how to form letters, they can focus entirely on what they want to say.

2. Sentence-Level Precision and Oracy

We do not rush children into writing long paragraphs before they can craft a perfect sentence. We focus heavily on sentence-level precision:

• Oral Rehearsal: Before picking up a pencil, children internalise the structure of language through structured talk. They verbally rehearse, expand, and refine their sentences out loud so their ideas are secure before they write them down.

• Explicit Grammar Instruction: Rather than learning grammar in isolation, children are taught exactly how to use specific grammatical structures to add impact, clarity, and variety to their writing.

3. Literature-Rich Contexts and Core Vocabulary

Our writing is always connected to high-quality, vocabulary-rich CUSP Core Texts. Children are never expected to write from a blank page.

• Explicit Vocabulary Instruction: We intentionally teach high-leverage Tier 2 (ambiguous/academic) and Tier 3 (subject-specific) vocabulary from our reading texts, showing children exactly how to deploy these words in their own writing.

• Teacher Modelling: We use a highly effective "I Do, We Do, You Do" modelling sequence. The teacher demonstrates high-quality writing live, the class collaborates to draft sentences together, and finally, the children independently apply these skills.

4. Critical Editing and Error Analysis

Being a writer means learning how to evaluate and improve your own work.

We teach explicit proofreading and editing skills through deliberate error analysis. Children are presented with carefully crafted sentences containing specific grammatical, punctuation, or spelling misconceptions. By identifying and correcting these corporate errors together, they develop a sharp eye for detail, which they then use to successfully self-regulate, proofread, and polish their own independent writing.

 

How can you help at home?

First of all, come to our meetings. We hold these every term to give you practical advice about how you can help.

We appreciate you’re busy but here are two things that will make the biggest difference to your child’s progress. Every night:

• Read a bedtime story to your child: Your child will bring home lovely books from their class story corner. Read these stories to your child – don’t ask them to read the story themselves as this is beyond their current reading stage. There is some really good advice about how to make bedtime story time fun on www.ruthmiskin.com/ parents.
• Listen to your child read the storybook we send home: Your child will bring home a Read Write Inc. Storybook they have just finished reading in their group. They will be able to read this book confidently because they have already read it two or three times. Please do not say “This book is too easy!” Praise your child for how well they read it – celebrate what a great reader they are.  They’ll sometimes bring home previous stories they have read too. Re-reading stories develop their fluency on every reading.